1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to online transactions and more particularly to the management of incentive information to facilitate online transactions.
2. Related Art
Customers routinely search for and purchase products and services through electronic communications with online merchants over electronic networks such as the Internet. During the course of these transactions, customers may provide payment in various ways including, for example, credit cards, electronic fund transfers, and other payment techniques offered by service providers.
In order to attract customers, online merchants may provide incentives in the form of discounts, sales, or other offers directed to various products and services. However, it is often difficult to inform relevant consumers of such incentives. For example, merchants are often required to engage in expensive advertising directed to various media in order to attract consumers to appropriate merchant websites. Other forms of advertising, such as unsolicited email messages, may be ignored or not trusted by consumers.
Also, it is often difficult for consumers to remember or manage incentives in any organized fashion. In this regard, consumers may occasionally print out or electronically store merchant incentive offers for future reference. But such an approach requires continuous management by consumers which can be unduly burdensome. Moreover, consumers who chose not to perform such management may be unable to recall previously offered merchant incentives which may result in lost sales for merchants and lost savings opportunities for consumers.